


Timing is Everything

by ratonzita



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alive Hale Family, Angst, But with a happy ending, Cheating, Fluff, M/M, Sterek for the win, and reasons, bc i love those, because yay, i'm not really sorry as it still happened on the show, inspired by the movie Free Fall, make it canon Jeff Davis, you'll see who dies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-20
Updated: 2015-06-20
Packaged: 2018-04-05 08:40:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4173285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ratonzita/pseuds/ratonzita
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Derek decided to move back to Beacon Hills, taking the new vacant at the sheriff’s department, he had no idea this would be happening. He had thought about everything, even meteors falling down was between the possibilities, but definitely not <em>this</em>: finding <em>that</em> <em>man</em> in a Beacon Hill’s deputy uniform. The man he had messed around with on a training camp, when he had a girlfriend waiting nervously for him in his New York apartment; the reason he was now moving back to his childhood town: <em>his pregnant girlfriend</em>, now fiancée. And of course Jennifer had no idea what he had done with that man.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Timing is Everything

**Author's Note:**

  * For [dylanofuckme (theplaidchesters)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/theplaidchesters/gifts).



> I watched the movie Free Fall and thought of this. I changed a lot of things. I literally watched it and my mind said you should do something sterek about it. And I did.  
> This work is dedicated to dylanofuckme (theplaidchesters) because she demanded I show it to her before it was even finished and I refused. Here it is hon.  
> Enjoy.

When Derek decided to move back to Beacon Hills, taking the new vacant at the sheriff’s department, he had no idea this would be happening. He had thought about everything, even meteors falling down was between the possibilities, but definitely not _this_ : finding _that_ _man_ in a Beacon Hill’s deputy uniform. The man he had messed around with on a training camp, when he had a girlfriend waiting nervously for him in his New York apartment; the reason he was now moving back to his childhood town: _his pregnant girlfriend_ , now fiancée. And of course Jennifer had no idea what he had done with that man. Derek himself didn’t even know he had an attraction towards men. (He still didn’t know: he tried, after the camp and before Jen had delivered the news, to find out if he was gay or not, but this man’s face kept appearing in his mind, hindering him from others.)

The man laughed. A full-body laugh, with his face crinkled in a joyous expression. It made a rich sound and brightened the whole place, spreading warmth to every corner. Derek’s heart beat faster, remembering it on private moments, like when they were running together, alone, in the camp’s woods, or when Derek playfully shoved him to bed before taking his cock completely into his mouth –effectively cutting off the sound with a loud moan.

The sheriff cleared his voice loudly, startling everybody out of their own bubbles. “Stiles, get back to work or you’ll give our new addition the wrong idea”. The sheriff then nodded towards Derek.

Stiles eyes went big, realizing _who_ was the new deputy his dad had talked so much about the last seven months: Derek freaking Hale. Stiles remembered him clearly –oh, _so clearly_ , especially on his designated Stiles’ especial time, which now that he lived alone was every single moment available– not only from his last training camp, but also from when he was a haunted teenager, scared by the thought of almost losing his family and depressed by actually losing his then girlfriend to a horrible car crash (the Hales had gotten lucky, but the other car had collided on Paige’s side, missing him by centimeters). Derek, on the other hand, never placed him; didn’t even join two and two for the looks of his surprised and slightly horrified expression: he truly never thought he was related to Sheriff Stilinski, little less his only son, or that he was even from the same town. Stiles was a bit disappointed by that, but it wasn’t enough to deter him from chasing after him or, you know, ogling his ass as he walked towards his dad’s office in order to be officially a Beacon Hill’s deputy.

He received a hit on the head and looked back towards Erica Reyes’ offender hand. “Keep it together, Stilinski, you’re boner is showing.”

He looked down, giving everyone around him whiplash, alarmed, but it was only a joke from her. “Ha, ha. Very funny, Reyes.” He glared. At the station they all knew he was bisexual; they just didn’t know Derek. Stiles went back to his desk, biting his lower lip and preventing his face from smiling as a plan started forming in his head. It was a matter of time before they also knew Derek was into guys as much as him.

*

Derek’s first shift didn’t start until the next day, so he decided to make the most of the one he had free, and not think or freak out much. He went back to his parent’s place to retrieve more boxes and took them to his new house, where Jennifer was taking a nap. He smiled down to her, settling the boxes on the floor discreetly, and pulled a quilt over her. Then he went back to his self-imposed task of moving them in and making the place feel like home as soon as possible.

After two more trips to the Preserve, he had every box they’d brought in the room they belonged. When he was about to start putting everything out of them and into the correct place, a set of arms hugged his waist from behind.

“Hey,” she whispered kissing his shoulder. Derek tried and failed not to shudder at the thought of Stiles’ lips doing the same some months ago. So much for not thinking about him.

“Hey back,” he cleaned his hands on a nearby towel and turned to hug her properly. “Sorry if I woke you. I tried to be as quiet as possible.” He kissed her forehead. She shook her head.

“It wasn’t you. It was this tiny person demanding food.” She patted her belly lovingly. Derek caressed it as well.

“Should I make you guys something to eat then?” She nodded. “Okay, then, give me a moment to locate the pans and dishes first.” He quickly found them and then proceeded to make a PB&J sandwich for his girl and their baby, adding pickles because of her weird and sudden craving.

They then settled comfortably on the couch to watch a movie. “Don’t you have something else to do or be as the new guy?” she asked between bites.

He shook his head. “There’s nowhere else I’m needed more than right here.” If it were a matter of want, well… Derek may or may not lie then.

*

Stiles was bursting with energy. It wasn’t time for his shift yet, but it was Derek’s. He had to begin his plan somewhere, so he decided to bake cookies and give it to them as a welcome home under the excuse of having lunch with his dad. It would work perfectly.

He came in, said hello to Lucy, the front desk lady forever, and then walked straight to the desk with a shiny new plaque. He cleared his voice to get his attention, but, as Derek raised his head, his face or posture revealed nothing. He frowned a bit confused –and Stiles could tell it was fake–, and then raised him an eyebrow in a usual way that Stiles always translated as ‘what’. Yes, Derek’s eyebrows talked and Stiles was very skilled in that language.

“I baked cookies, Derek,” he smiled secretly, “as a thank you for joining us and a welcome back home”, Stiles’ grin grew when his façade cracked a bit and showed him sincerely confused.

“What do you mean back home?” Derek whispered.

Stiles rolled his eyes. “Like I didn’t know who you were the whole time.” He put the bag of cookies on the desk, and just when he was going in for, well he wanted a kiss but he would settle for a reaction, his dad interrupted them by calling his name and giving him an unexpected heart attack. He flailed and accidentally dropped Derek’s set of pens. “Shit,” he dropped to all fours to gather everything, giving Derek an image to remember and think about later on his next jerk-off session.

“Son, what are you doing?”

Stiles snorted, pulling Derek back from a daydream and helping to put the pens in place, making the other smirk discreetly, just for the two of them, and wink. “Gee, dad, what does it look like?” Color Derek now as befuddled. “And you call yourself a deputy-detective, Hale,” he whispered and stood up, turning fully towards his dad. “Now that that was solved, time to eat healthy pops. Ready to go?” The sheriff groaned, while some deputies smothered their giggles, but he went out with a small smile on his face.

All the way to the diner, Stiles hummed happily: part one of Wooing-Derek-Back-To-His-Bed-And-Beyond was done. However, the sheriff hated to ruin his mood, but he had to before things gave a badly turn. He waited, though, to be sitting first in a booth.

“He’s getting married, you know, to a woman” he said after ordering.

“Who?” Stiles asked rethinking everybody in his life that his dad could be referring to.

“Derek.” Stiles choked on air. “He’s not gay, son.”

“ _What,_ ” he demanded seeing stars. “He can’t- I’m pretty sure he-”

“Stiles,” he actually saw him this time, “her name is Jennifer Blake: their having a kid together. That’s why he moved back: to have his family in arms reach and complete.” Stiles gasped disbelievingly. “I’m sorry, kiddo. You seemed quite interested, I decided to avoid you some disappointment.”

“But- I had no idea- like- he never-”

“I know, that’s why I said something,” but _he didn’t really know a thing, did he?_ Stiles thought. “Your radar hasn’t been this off since… high school.”

Stiles nodded absently. Was seven months even enough to find someone new when you had an off-and-on guy, get engaged to a woman and get her pregnant? _A woman_. Derek was with a woman. How could Stiles have missed that? Yeah, he was bisexual and shit, but Derek never seemed inclined towards the other women at camp and boy, how they threw themselves to him. “Yeah… I don’t know what happened either.” But damn him if he didn’t find out soon.

*

Stiles casually walked and bumped his car, sending groceries to the floor. Derek turned and scowled at him, wishing to disappear, returning towards the shelf. He had been successfully avoiding him. The shifts helped a lot with that, especially when he had Reyes as partner, the most comfortable hours and because Stiles always got himself into the oddest ones as a punishment or reprimand, even if it was just for changing the sheriff’s bacon at last minute.

“Oh, sorry, didn’t see you there all big and glaring at beans,” lied Stiles easily. He cleared his voice when Derek kept ignoring him. “So… I hear congratulations are in order: a baby and a wedding, who would have thought it?” For not watching him, Derek didn’t notice how Stiles had approached him, that’s why, when Stiles finished his sentence at his ear, he jumped three meters in the air. “You okay there, big guy?” Stiles flicked his tongue against his ear.

Derek turned their positions, pushing Stiles into the shelf with a strong grip on his red hoodie, dropping more groceries to the floor. “What. Do. You. Think. You’re. Doing”, he punctuated every word with a flare of his nose and a glare, but Stiles wasn’t faced. He licked his lips and shrugged.

“I was going for a hug and a pat in the back, but you kept ignoring me. So, tell me, how did Jennifer happen?” But Derek wasn’t really hearing: Stiles lips were right there in front of him, shiny because of his saliva.

“What?” he asked distractedly. Stiles smirked: Derek’s always been easy for him. Seriously, how did he miss it?

“Jennifer. Tell me about her.” He demanded with a small, warning thrust of his hips and grabbing Derek’s jacket with a feather touch. It felt really good to be this close again, but it wouldn’t last.

“We’ve been together for years,” he murmured putting his hands on Stiles’ hips. He was about to kiss him, when Stiles pushed him away strongly. Derek looked up confused, noting his furious glare.

“Years?!” He hissed. “You’ve been with Jennifer freaking Blake for _years_ , and you still fucked me at camp. How long is she? With the baby. How long.” Stiles gave him a shove to snap him out of it.

“Eight months.” Stiles felt like someone took the floor from under him. Derek steadied him, but Stiles pushed him away once more.

“ _Eight_ months?! That would mean she was already pregnant when us-” Stiles choked on the words. “You _cheated_ on her with _me_ and she was already _pregnant_. How could you?”

“I didn’t know she was pregnant when we, you know, had our thing.” Derek gestured wildly with his arm; it looked weird on him.

“That was what it was for you? A thing? Like a summer-vacation thing?” he glared and crossed his arms.

“More like a one-time thing.”

Stiles snorted. “I distinctly remember it happening more than once. And, FYI, just now?, you were going to kiss me.” He took a step forwards, Derek too.

“Because you hit on me so subtly and with pure intentions.”

“I had to confirm my sources.” He turned his blushing face to the side, both ashamed and turned on by Derek’s everything.

“So, you already knew when you pulled this little stunt.” Derek took another step forwards, making Stiles consciously back away into the shelf. He wasn’t getting involved with an engaged, soon-to-be-a-father man; he knew better, he deserved better.

“Derek?” A voice took them out of their argument, which was getting heady. They turned to see Jennifer Blake standing at the end of the aisle. Derek made space between them and went to her side. “Is everything okay?” she asked eyeing all the groceries on the floor.

“Yeah. Everything’s fine,” Derek smiled and Stiles noted it didn’t reach his eyes; his jaw clenched: Derek didn’t love this woman, not really, and yet he was going to build a family with her. “Stiles is the sheriff’s son and a deputy, also quite a spaz,” he chuckled. And God how fake it sounded to his ears, but she seemed to buy it. “He stumbled into the shelf and I helped him. He’s a bit embarrassed as you can see.”

Stiles cleared his voice and forced a smile to his face. “You must be Jen! Derek’s told us _so_ much about you! You know, this,” he signaled her belly, “is a beautiful look on you. My best friend’s girl is also waiting on a little cute baby. They’ll be having a boy! What you’re cooking in there, huh?”

She giggled and blushed. “We don’t actually know. I want the surprise. You get twice in presents,” she stage whispered.

Stiles laughed amused. He really liked babies and talking about them. His discomfort and anger was not forgotten though, but the woman here had no idea. _No idea whatsoever_. “So, are you also picking names for both sexes? That sounds exhausting. Scott can’t even decide on one for his boy, and you have to pick two just in case! But enough about babies! I now you’re getting married too! When’s the date?”

“Well, definitely some time after we have the baby.”

“What? No way! You’re skipping on using a wedding dress with those beautiful curves? You’d look so gorgeous, with your bride and expecting-mother glow!”

She chuckled. “I hadn’t thought about that part. I don’t want our baby to think we got married because I was pregnant with he/she.”

“Puh-lease!” said Stiles physically waving away her idea, watching with the corner of his eye how Derek slightly cringed. “Where would he/she get that from? Just look at you guys! Who could even think that?”

“Especially when Derek had been planning it for months before we knew I was carrying, right?”

“Aw, that’s so sweet dude! You didn’t tell me that part!”

“Yeah, well… you know.” He shrugged without fooling Stiles. “We’re already almost there, I guess I was excited with other things.”

Stiles hummed thoughtfully, and Derek knew he could never lie to him. “Yeah, I can see that. When are you due, then? Soon I’d think?”

“Yeah, any time this month.” She beamed. “I can’t wait to have her/him in my arms.”

“I hope Derek doesn’t faint and takes a picture of you two in your first embrace. It will be so cute.” Stiles looked directly to Derek since the conversation started, and the constipated look there was enough for him. “Well, I should go, you know, pick up after my mess. See you around guys! Super nice to finally meet you Jen!” He turned on his heel and started putting the groceries in place.

“Shouldn’t you help him further?” she raised an eyebrow at him. Derek shrugged again.

“He seems to have it handled. Besides I have a pregnant fiancée to feed.”

*

It was pouring outside and Stiles felt caged inside his apartment. He needed to run, scream and cry his lungs out where nobody would call the cops on him, but he could get sick if he went to the woods to vent his problems. He worried his lower lip until the buzzing in his head convinced him to put on his shoes and just go.

When he parked there, he noticed another car but didn’t recognize it. He shrugged it off, pulled his red hoodie up and started his jog. Until he got to his special place, he wouldn’t start screaming his and every animal’s head off in a mile. He was just reaching the spot when he saw another person jogging during a storm. He raced towards him, because that was definitely a man’s back –and _dat ass_ –, just to realize it was Derek.

“My, my, fancy meeting you here, deputy Hale.” He said startling him. Damn, the man looked adorably hot under the rain. “Shouldn’t you be home making sure the future wife and mother of your child is comfortable and still with electricity?” The venom in his voice did not go unnoticed. They kept running.

“Did you follow me here?”

Stiles scoffed and stopped. Derek did the same a few steps after, finally paying attention at how the clothes were glued to Stiles skin, letting him appreciate his body in a way he had only been able to in his dreams and fantasies. “Sure. Because I follow and haunt every move you make in this town. Get over yourself. My life does not revolve around you.” He crossed his arms, refusing to take a step backwards as Derek stalked towards him. It did _not_ arouse him. It did not. Derek smirked. Stiles gulped. He tried to take the step he didn’t take before, only to slip. Derek caught him and pinned him to a tree. Stiles grabbed his soaked, transparent white shirt; he could see those delicious abs. Derek’s smirk grew wider. “You’ll get sick. You can’t have that this close to being a father.”

“This close?” he asked giving a thrust with his hips. Stiles bit off a moan.

“Stop it.” He frowned. “You’re engaged and having a baby!”

“Yeah, you keep saying that.” Another thrust. “But I don’t see you fighting me off. And I know for a fact how good you’re at that.” Thrust. Stiles lip was moments away of bleeding with his effort of not making a sound. “The question truly is,” thrust, “do,” thrust, “you,” thrust, “care?” thrust.

“Of course I fucking care!” He hissed, blushing furiously, not really trying to push him away. The friction was intoxicating.

“Really, now?” Derek caressed his neck with his nose. Stiles shivered. He blamed it on the cold. “Then get me off of you.” Derek bit his neck then. Stiles couldn’t hold the loud moan that left his lips. He slapped a hand over his mouth, while Derek kept sucking the same spot he bit. He admired his work: there was an intense red mark, and it was Derek’s. He grinned as if it were Christmas. It effectively shut Stiles brain down. Panting, he grabbed Derek by the hair and pulled him into a fierce kiss, throwing all his anger, frustration and libido into it. Gee, it had been seven months of just his hand thinking about this man. If Stiles ever had a weak spot, it was Derek and his stupid bunny teeth. Stiles lifted his legs and surrounded Derek’s waist with them. The hands under his shirt, holding him firmly in place, felt like burning but Stiles only arched wanting more. Soon enough, Derek pulled down both their shorts and started fingering with the rain’s and his own pre-cum’s assistance, while Stiles licked his neck and sucked on his earlobe, then left a mark of his own on Derek’s collarbone. He dug and gasped, arching his back as much as it would bend when Derek’s cock was finally inside of him. They quickly set on a rhythm, but they were both too far gone on each other to actually make it last. Some hard thrusts later they were coming: Stiles with a silent cry and Derek with a grunt, similar to a growl.

As they were coming down of their afterglow, they realized what they’ve done. Stiles bumped his forehead against Derek’s shoulder as he exited Stiles’ body with the least amount of discomfort. Just as Stiles was opening his mouth to say they weren’t ever, not in a million years, doing this again, Derek kissed his hair tenderly. Stiles slumped, defeated, against Derek’s body, trusting he wouldn’t let him fall. And wasn’t that it? How much he still trusted Derek? He would even trust him with his father’s life.

Derek caressed his arms, head, everywhere he could reach without moving his support on the tree. Afraid they wouldn’t –and he knew they shouldn’t– do this again. He dreaded the moment Stiles would sober up and walk away: he was the more reasonable of the two of them, the smarter one. Derek didn’t want him to go.

Stiles straightened up, still in Derek’s arms and stroked his cheek. He sighed, then nibbled his lower lip. Derek released it with a touch of his thumb, Stiles eyelashes fluttered shut. He sighed again. Then he met Derek’s eyes with a bright-eyed, insecure look. They really shouldn’t have done that.

“I live alone.” That was _not_ what he wanted to say. Derek raised his eyebrows saying ‘I’m listening’. “Just,” he looked away, “I was thinking, maybe, we should have this day? Like we didn’t meet on purpose here, so perhaps we just need to get it out of our system and be,” he cleared his throat, “done with it.” Derek kissed him deeply as an answer. Stiles smiled when they came up for oxygen. Then he ducked under his arm, and yelled over his shoulder “Race you to the cars!” before sprinting off. Derek happily went after him, tackling him a few meters from the cars into the mud.

Yeah, unless they had a couple of sex rounds, they didn’t really tire out, but, on the contrary, they felt more energetic. Stiles laughed under Derek, relishing the man’s weight over him. “Come on, dude!” he said with a playful thrust of his hips that showed his renewed arousal. “This rain isn’t letting go.” He wiggled his eyebrows.

Derek rolled his eyes and helped him up. “Don’t call me dude,” he demanded by spanking Stiles merrily.

He grinned, his pupils dilated and black, “Follow me.”

They kept a discreet distance, both with the cars and inside the elevator, but as soon as Stiles unlocked the door –with the key under the frog, Derek's brain memorized– they were all over each other.

Stiles sucked in Derek’s lip as he removed their shorts with an incredible speed and equilibrium. Then their shirts disappeared and Stiles was thrown over the tangled sheets. Derek quickly covered him up with bites and kisses. Stiles turned them around and surrendered him to the same treat, before taking his cock completely. He combined licks and strokes expertly, making Derek squirm under his touch. Derek then pulled him up and changed their positions. He demanded lube while nuzzling Stiles’ neck, who pointed somewhere at his right. Derek reached over with Stiles licking his chest and giving especial attention to those sensitive nipples. He gasped, kissed him senseless, and, taking advantage of his Derek high, he turned him around. He then kissed slowly the pale back dotted in moles, making a design with his tongue. He then rimmed him a little while, Stiles moaned as loud as usual, and turned him back around. He knew how much it turned Stiles on to be manhandled. He started to finger him thoroughly and gave him a blow job at the same time. When Stiles was writhing on the bed, Derek let go of him a second, appreciating the view, until Stiles’ blushing glare demanded to be fucked already. Derek smirked and obeyed. He loved pushy, bossy Stiles.

He set a slow pace, dragging it out of both of them. But Stiles was having none of that: he turned them around easily and set a harder, faster and more pleasurable rhythm. Ridding Derek was one of his favorite things in the world, he laughed and moaned while fucking himself on Derek’s dick, who detailed lustily everything to memory. When his pace started faltering, Derek picked it up and took him over the edge. He admired Stiles still figure: his arched back, the blush on his chest, the nails he dug on Derek’s chest, his blissed out expression. He dropped over Derek, who turned them again around, and pounded into Stiles, looking for his own orgasm. Stiles held on as tight as he could. “Derek,” he said in his hoarse voice, “come for me.” And that did it. Derek growled into Stiles neck, who pulled his head back by his hair to watch him scrunch his face from the intensity of his climax.

Derek rolled to the bed pulling Stiles to his chest. He crossed an arm over his face, the one that wasn’t stroking Stiles back, and recovered his breathing. Stiles doodled on his chest a moment, then sighed and stood up for a washcloth. When he returned Derek was staring at the ceiling. He cleaned them both up, threw it to a corner and flopped back to Derek’s side, who embraced him immediately for a brief moment. Then he pushed him away and started looking for his clothes.

“What?,” he said supporting himself on his elbows, “No third round? You must be getting old.” Derek glared at him half-heartedly, his dick twitching betrayed him. Stiles smirked.

“I have to go home.”

And there was the painful reminder Stiles was intently ignoring. Though deep down he knew he had already made a decision. He played and twirled the sheet under his fingers. “You could, uh, take that key, you know,” he shrugged and looked away. “For, you know, a place to get away, forget the world…” he cleared his throat, “I won’t uh jump you or anything. We could maybe even be friends. Just, I know thanks to Scott, how overwhelming a pregnancy can be, so…”

Derek nodded at him when he looked up after the silence. He then finished dressing and took off. Stiles sighed sagging against his come stained sheets. He looked out the window, to the rain. He would take anything Derek gave him. A kiss, a nod, a fuck, a hello; anything.

He fell asleep, uneasy and not sure Derek would even say a word to him at the station. Out of curiosity, as he left his apartment the next morning, he looked under the frog: the key wasn’t there. All day long he grinned like a lunatic. The guy that Parrish and him arrested for shop lifting came in easily because of it; and to be honest, even Parrish was a bit afraid.

*

“You came in quite late yesterday after your jog in the rain,” Jennifer said as they paused their breathing exercise and took a sip of her water.

“Yeah, I had a lot on my mind.” When she looked at him, he scratched his head. “It’s this case… it was bugging me, but the running for hours… it helped a lot.”

“Did you find a solution?” she asked as they resumed the exercise.

“Yeah, I did. But I might keep the jogging up just for my mind’s sake.”

She shrugged. “Sounds like a good thing to release stress, until, you know, you let sex be back on the table,” she punched him. He chuckled.

“We tried and even you admit it was weird knowing our kid was involved somewhere around here,” he rubbed her belly.

“I can’t wait to give birth.”

“Yeah,” he said swallowing the thump in his throat, “me too.”

*

“You don’t seem as chirpy as other days,” said Lydia taking a sip from her smoothie. “Everything okay with the guy you’re seeing and won’t even let me know his name?”

Stiles sighed. This had been a recurrent argument for the past couple of weeks he and Derek kept fucking around. The thing was they not only fucked, they also talked. If it weren’t for the baby and the fiancée, he could have sworn they were dating. But when they weren’t around and all over each other, Stiles was capable of actually thinking his situation through: he was the other woman here, the mistress, the secret lover. And he was sadly getting tired of it. Only the night before he had whispered into Derek’s chest the reality of things: he would never leave Jennifer. He admitted it when, seconds later, he was getting dressed and leaving without a glance back. Stiles had cried himself to sleep.

“You know I don’t tell you because I _know_ you won’t approve of my relationship.” If he could even call the affair _that_ when it was truly a dirty secret. Their guilty pleasure.

She raised her eyebrow judgingly. “Then why, again, are you still keeping it up?”

“He’s amazing and perfect, Lydia. If the circumstances were different…”

“He’s married, then.”

He sighed. She was too damn smart. “Something like that…”

She grabbed both of his hands tightly between hers and looked him straight in the eye. There was a concern gaze on her features that was rarely shown. He gulped anxiously. The next thing out of her mouth was important, deadly serious and never to be repeated. “Stiles, you _are_ amazing, perfect and the most adoring and loving person I’ve ever known. You deserve better than being someone else’s second choice or secret. You know how I know that?” He shook his head. “You told me those same words when I was with the asshole-we-never-mention.”

*

It happened a week before the regular nine months of Jennifer’s pregnancy concluded. Stiles was coming out of a deserted diner when, on the parking lot across the street, he heard a woman screaming. He looked up, running already and committing the plate to memory, and watched as a couple of guys took Jennifer Blake into a black van. He harshly came to a halt, turned to his jeep and started following the van discreetly. He dialed his father’s number without taking his eyes off of them.

“Stiles, you know not to call me when I’m on shift unless-”

“It is an emergency. I just saw two guys kidnapping Jennifer Blake, so unless you’d like to wait for someone to find your deputy’s fiancée, I’m following them.” There was a blunt punch, and a muffled conversation. “Dad, what was that?”

“Where did they take her?” That was Derek’s enraged voice. He had completely forgotten his dad was with him today.

“I don’t know. They haven’t stopped. They took her from across Julia’s diner and we’ve been heading steadily south. I think maybe they want to leave town, put some miles between- oh fuck-”

“Stiles!” Both men yelled. He was disoriented. The car had come out of nowhere. “STILES, answer the fucking phone.” There was more shouting, but he was being pulled out of his jeep.

“Well, well, you shouldn’t have followed, young man. Now I’m afraid I’ll have to take you too.” He opened an eye and saw an old man, bald and with flabby arms. The guy next to him knocked him out.

Some time later he woke up to the sound of sobbing. He slowly sat up, to hear the other person gasp. “Stiles,” her voice was wavering, “Stiles, please open your eyes.”

He slowly did as asked. Jennifer had red, puffy eyes, her mascara was running down her cheeks, but other than that she looked okay. Just scared. “Hey, Jen,” his voice croaked. She gave him water. “You know where we are?” She shook her head. “Okay,” he grabbed her hand. “Nothing is going to happen to you, okay? No one is going to hurt you, I promise.” She sniffed and nodded.

“Don’t make promises you won’t fulfill, kid, didn’t your mother teach you that?” the old man came down the stairs like some villain from a comic book. Stiles clenched his jaw angrily.

“What do you want with her?”

“Well, you got that right. I don’t need you at all, I might as well tell you before I kill you.” Bad guys were always easy to read and trick for him. “Nothing personal with you: wrong place at the wrong time.” He shrugged.

Stiles snorted. “Story of my life, dude.” How ironic. “Why this pregnant woman? There are plenty out there if you want a grandson or something.”

He frowned. “I already have grandsons and granddaughters. The peculiar thing about her is the father of the child.” Stiles tensed up but it went unnoticed by him; Jennifer though, she knew and grabbed tighter his arm. “You see, because of him my daughter died trying to kill his family.”

“You’re Kate Argent’s father.” Stiles murmured. The old man bowed.

“A knowledgeable boy. What a shame. But yes, you are right. I’m Gerard Argent, at your disposal. Well more like your disposer.” He laughed at his lame joke. Stiles made Jennifer let go of him and stood up. “Huh, wanting a brave going, I see.”

Stiles shrugged. “Well, Gerard. You shared your little secret, now I’ll share mine. It’s just fair courtesy. My name’s Stiles.”

“What kind of name is that?” The other scowled.

Stiles grinned. “It’s actually a nickname, my real name is horrible, so it’s an abbreviation of my last name: Stilinski.” Gerard paled. Stiles smirked. “I can see you recognize it. My dad’s the sheriff of Beacon Hills, and, you know?, I was having a lovely conversation with him when you crashed into me. I don’t think he ever forgot how your voice sounded from taking your statement all those years ago.” He took out a gun. “Jen, get down!” He ducked the bullet and tackled him. However the old man didn’t seem as old when he elbowed harshly Stiles’ stomach. They were both well trained and, sadly for Stiles ego, they were tied: Stiles was faster and smart, but Gerard was more experienced and more cunning. Another shot went off before Stiles managed to break his wrist, twist his arm back and pushed him to the floor, using all his body and weight. He looked back to Jen, who was holding tightly her arm. “You okay?” She nodded and suddenly contorted forward screaming. “Jen?!” Stiles couldn’t let go of Gerard, but he desperately wanted to rush to her side. “Jen! Come on, talk to me.”

She was breathing heavily. “Contractions,” she grunted. Stiles paled while Gerard laughed. He hit his head until he knocked him out. Some kind of commotion had to be happening upstairs if no one ran down to back the guy up. Stiles went rapidly to her side, grabbing her hand tightly.

“Okay, okay. You’ve gone to classes for this. You’re so ready for this jelly and pop out your beautiful baby, okay? Just breathe through it. They’re coming for us. Derek’s coming for you two, okay? Trust me.” He smiled weakly as she crunched his fingers when another contraction showed up. His heart was unavoidably breaking. This baby was going to be the end of him and Derek, he just knew it. “That’s it, just breathe. In and Out.”

“Stiles!?”

“Down here, dad! Hurry! Just FYI: she’s in fucking labor! Also the bad guy is right here next to us!” Stiles clamped down a yell when she cut off his fingers’ circulation.  Moments later came feet rushing down. Paramedics arrived to their side, gently prying her hand from his, and strapping her up for easier carry. His dad had already cuffed and woken up Gerard. He looked so badass. “And Derek?” he asked as they walked upstairs.

“Right over there, kiddo.”

Stiles turned in time to see Derek kissing Jennifer. He looked up after she whispered something to him, his eyes firmly on his. He gave a short nod and left with her on the ambulance. A paramedic approached Stiles then to check him up; his eyes still on the vacant space where they kissed.

*

They had given him the okay to go half an hour later, only to be dragged to the station and give his statement. They were actually fast when they saw his bruised face and patted him on the back for a good job.

An hour later, he was going down on his couch. Crowley, his beautiful black cat, curled up next to his head, licking some of his wounds. Groaning he stood up, grabbed a glass of water and drank some pain meds. Then flopped back on the couch, his room was too far away.

It was midnight when he was awoken by a pounding knock. Dizzy because of the meds, he opened the door to a disarrayed Derek. He tried to blink himself to complete wakefulness. “Derek?” He came in, grabbing his face, turning it from side to side and then firmly kissed him. Stiles wasn’t complaining as he couldn’t feel the pain and soreness of the punches. Derek let go of him, closed the door and took Stiles to his room. He gently put him over the sheets, as if he were cherished for.

“I never loved her,” he whispered, “I care-cared for her, but the baby- she’s, God, Stiles. I don’t have words for her. And you saved her, you protected her, even when you hate her.” Derek’s eyes had a complete adoration look. Stiles gulped. “I love you,” Stiles gasped, “you’ve given me everything and I-”

Stiles cut him off, swallowed his words with a hurried kiss. Derek slowed the pace down. “I want to take my time.” He nodded.

It was tortuous going, but every kiss, every touch of Derek’s hands, made him feel loved, cared for, like the first and only option. There was no rush, no desperation, only tenderness. It wasn’t sex. He was like a live wire, every nerve in his body was on fire and completely aware of Derek’s everything. Derek made love to him and gently, so gently, guided him to the best orgasm in his life. In his afterglow heightened by the meds, he heard Derek’s grunt as he came. He pulled out and, before Stiles was able to embrace him, he got up and started dressing.

Confused, Stiles half sat up, blearily watching him. “What are you doing?” Derek glanced at him, with a blank stare. Stiles felt an uneasiness building in his stomach. “Derek?” He reached out to grab his wrist, to stop him or something, but Derek harshly made space between them. “What’s going on?”

Derek grabbed tightly his shirt, then pulled it on angrily. “She’s dead, Stiles.” All the warmth and joy he felt, abandoned him. “Jennifer died giving birth. The stress was too much for her heart. And it’s my fault. I should have accepted the night shift with you, but we can’t exactly focus around each other, so I lied and asked, on Jen’s behalf, for another one. I should have been with her on that shop. But because of you I didn’t.” He stomped his foot after tying his shoelaces and looked angrily up. “So I fucked you one last time as a thank you for saving my daughter, but I want you to stay the fuck away from me. You’re only a distraction; you were always that.” He left with a loud bang that Stiles didn’t hear. He was too numb by those words. They kept rushing back and forth in his ears, getting louder and louder until he couldn’t bare them anymore and passed out with an open wound in his chest, one that no matter how many times Crowley meowed and licked he would never be able to make it better.

*

Stiles had the next three days off. He only got up from his bed for the bathroom and to eat some protein bars that he shared with Crowley. His demeanor didn’t improve much by the time he had to get back to work. He was unusually quiet, but most thought it was some PTSD. They weren’t wrong, but the sheriff knew it went beyond the kidnapping. He just knew it. He called Stiles to his office.

“Hi, kiddo.”

Stiles grimaced, trying to smile. “What’s up, daddy-o?”

“That’s what I’d like to know, son.” Stiles frowned. “You’re only ever quiet when something’s wrong.”

“Haven’t you heard? I was kidnapped and Derek’s fiancée’s dead. I think that’s pretty fucked up.”

“Yeah, it is. But there something else. Ah- ah,” he raised his hand, “before you lie and deny it,” Stiles huffed, “I know you won’t tell me anything. So I’m calling for back-up here.” He unhooked the phone and dialed.

Stiles scowled. “Scott won’t get an answer either, you know?”

He nodded. “I know. That’s why I’m not calling Scott.” Stiles eyes went wide with fear. “Lydia, hello.”

His dad sent him home after that. Lydia was already in his couch waiting when he arrived. She raised an eyebrow, “Tell me everything. No detail left behind,” she demanded.

And Stiles knew you never say no to Lydia Martin when she used that tone of voice. He broke down in tears on her shoulder. After she hugged him, he started talking. And didn’t stop until every thought, feeling and act was out there in the open for her to judge. She didn’t say a word, only hugged him tighter.

*

It had been almost a year. Derek and Stiles were civil towards each other. They gave each other a saluting nod, if they were in public, but they completely ignored the other if their runs coincided; just passed by.

Derek was, on general, doing fine. He was really busy taking care of Jamie, who looked like an identical copy of him, but in brown hair. Only late at night, when sometimes his brain supplied him images of Stiles, did he felt other than tired. Don’t get him wrong: whenever he saw his baby girl, he was the happiest man alive; but remove her from the equation and he was just plain miserable and tired. Stiles felt exactly the same: miserable, tired and still hurt. He hadn’t tried dating, no matter Lydia’s and Scott’s attempts. He went clubbing with the sole intention of getting off, and afterwards he cried himself to sleep. He was just getting better at not letting everyone notice how he was truly feeling. But there were three persons he couldn’t fool: his dad, Lydia and Derek. They all noticed the dark circles after hooking up; Derek once broke a pen with his hand when he saw a hickey on the back of his neck.

Derek was doing grocery shopping. Jamie was safe on the cars’ seat while he decided which milk was better for her. Suddenly there was too much silence. He turned to find her seat empty. He panicked and ran towards one end of the aisle without success and, as he raced towards the other side, he heard a commotion.

Stiles was picking up apples when the man bumped him. He was going to yell at him, but he noticed a familiar brown head bobbing up and down as the man hurried to leave. He ran to him, touched his shoulder and quickly punched him in the face and taking Jamie from his arms. When he was about to kick the man to submission, defeat and admittance, he himself was punched in the same way. This time, though, it was the furious and worried father.

“What the heck, Stiles?” he hissed. Stiles snorted, grabbing his bleeding cheekbone.

“If you could like check the scene and your surroundings, like the deputy you are, you would have noticed the guy on the floor with a bleeding nose.”

Derek turned to see said man making a run for it. “That one?” Stiles turned and cursed.

“Fuck! You asshole! You’re not getting the fuck away!” He raced, tackled him and punched him unconscious. Derek walked hurriedly towards him. “Now, just a note for you,” he said as he dialed dispatch directly, “this was the idiot who tried to snatch Jamie away, you're fucking welcome. Yeah, dispatch. It’s deputy Stilinski. I have an attempted kidnap. Please send a unit right away. Yes, I’ll wait.” Derek tried to speak. “Don’t even bother. Just leave. Take her somewhere far from me.” He grumbled bitterly and sat on the criminal. “Go, Derek. The station will later call you for a statement; they’ll understand your need to get her away from a failed snatch.” Derek started walking away, but he was able to hear as Stiles continued mumbling angrily. “I’m always fucking saving your girls. And what do I get? A good job pat, a pity thank you fuck and no further contact whatsoever. At least this time I avoided the fuck and some more damage to myself. Not that I wanted the fuck. No, I’m fucking over that, _literally_.” Derek felt awful and, once again, irrationally jealous. Making up the rest of their day, he quickly headed to the Preserve.

Stiles had to wait a whole hour for the pick-up unit. He delivered the guy, whose nose kept on bleeding as he refused to grab him a tissue. Then he had another two hours of statement and a small follow-up. Small and brief his ass. He was fucking cranky, hungry and his face hurt like fuck. Fucking Derek knew how to throw a punch _at the wrong guy_. He opened the door still muttering nonsense, only to find the man of his torments and fantasies on the couch.

“What the fuck, dude? How did you even get in here?” He hissed as he threw his jacket off to the floor and his keys to some table, he would later figure out which.

“You gave me a key, remember?” Derek didn’t even look at him as he said that.

Stiles rolled his eyes, scoffed and bypassed him heading to the kitchen. “Which you should have given back a year ago or never fucking used it again. That’s kind of the essential of breaking up with someone, you know. Now, leave it here and go. Get out of here. Just in case I’ll be changing locks. I don’t,” he cleared his throat, reaching for some frozen peas; “I don’t want you here or near me.”

“You haven’t changed them,” Stiles jumped and glared at him. He was exactly behind him. Stiles pushed him back off his personal space.

“So fucking what? What do you care? We’re not even friends. Fucking leave my apartment, Derek, and don’t come back.”

“You really want that?” Derek was searching his face, not only checking on the injury he made, but also for something else.

Stiles crossed his arms and held the stare. “Leave,” he was proud of his voice when it did not shake, but Derek knew how to read him. Instead of doing as asked, he caressed the bruised cheekbone. Stiles hissed. “Dude!”

“Don’t call me dude,” that was all the warning Stiles had. Derek kissed him as tenderly as the last time he did. He tried to get away, fight him off, without any strength or actually intent, only to sigh into it. A silent tear rolled down to Derek’s hand. They separated, but Derek pushed their foreheads together and cleaned the timid tears.

“Now you did it,” Stiles whispered, still with his eyes closed. “I got the thanks. You can go now. Please leave now.” His broken voice brought unshed tears to Derek’s eyes.

“Tomorrow’s Jamie’s birthday.” Stiles’ slowly, confused and hurt looked at Derek. “We’re having a party at my parents’ place; from noon ‘til sevenish. You’re invited.” With that he turned to leave. He hesitated at the door, scratched his ear and stared straight to Stiles’ soul. “I know you hate me, but come. Please come. I- Please?” He waited until Stiles nodded unsure, he then offered a small smile and left.

Stiles let himself slowly slip to the floor. Crowley came to lick the frozen peas. Was he really going?

*

Stiles hated everything and everybody. The party was beautiful. Jamie had an adorable purple rabbit onesie and the decorations had a wood theme: every other kid was also a forest animal. Even Derek had some wolf ears on his head and a tail. His dad, gee, the sheriff had bear ears. And some sister of Derek, Laura if he wasn’t mistaken –and his memory didn’t make errors, perks of being Lydia’s best friend– had put some fox ears on his own head. Worst of all, was that he had actually bought a present and it was a freaking fluffy, stuffed rabbit. He thought it was an okay thing, but Jamie had loved it and was now hugging it to death. Derek had given him this awed and adoring look, and Stiles was just done. He needed to leave and drown himself with alcohol. But nobody had left yet; they hadn’t even cut the cake or eaten. So he couldn’t be the first to leave.

“You seem to want one of these,” said another Hale sister, Cora, the youngest. She was holding a heavenly cold beer.

“You deserve angel wings.” He took it and gulped down half.

“Not a fan of kids, huh?” She asked sipping slowly her beer like a normal person would.

Stiles grimaced. “Quite the opposite. I love kids; adore them. I just- this reminds me of how I don’t have any of my own and why.” He took another sip to stop babbling; otherwise he’d tell the sister how much he loves her brother’s cock. He side glanced where his father was congratulating Derek and Jamie.

“Well, the practice is also fun,” Cora drawled.

Stiles snorted. “Oh, fun it is, yeah. But when you’re more into guys than girls, well, it gets harder.”

“I knew you were gay!” Laura cheered on his other side, startling him.

“Try bisexual? But yeah, I’ve been more into guys the last couple of years. And it’s not like it was a secret: everybody at the station knows, probably the whole town.” He went to take another sip, but his bottle was already empty. He frowned, but then Laura offered a second one out of thin air.

“Cora beat me to bring you one, so I already had it in hand,” she said shrugging. He wouldn’t look a gift into the horse’s mouth or something like that.

“You two thinking of having your own?” Laura yelled excitedly while Cora rolled her eyes and murmured “here we go”.

“Mine’s actually over there,” she spun him until he was looking where Erica and her husband Boyd were playing with a five-year-old boy in a squirrel onesie. “I lend him to them, you know, so they start practicing.”

“And for you to get alone nights with David,” added Cora.

Laura nodded. “That too.” Stiles chuckled, shaking his head. “Nobody can’t live without sex.”

Stiles held his beer towards her. “Amen to that.”

“Tell that to Derek,” said Cora frowning. Stiles choked on his drink. Laura shook her head.

“That martyr.”

“Well, give the guy a break,” said Stiles recovering from his almost beer death. “He’s a single parent of a one year-old. It can’t be easy to get away from that to find, uh, release or date.”

“Oh, he’s had opportunities,” Stiles could have cracked the beer with the strength he was holding it. “Both me and Cora have set him up, but he always turns them down.”

“There’s also the dead fiancée thing. That could deter him too.”

“Stop trying to defend him,” said Cora squinting her eyes at him. “He’s over that.”

“Oh? Really? Because he doesn’t seem that way to me. I mean he’s happy with and because of Jamie, but whenever he’s not with her? Yup, not happy.”

“Mmm,” Laura hummed, sipping her own beer. “So you pay close attention to our brother, then?”

Stiles blushed slightly and took a sip to control himself. “Well, I’m a deputy. I observe. It’s what I do.” He shrugged.

“His ass is not a matter of criminal relevance,” Cora stated.

“I know plenty of people who think his ass should be illegal,” he scoffed. “Besides it is of no importance whatsoever if I look or not: he’s straight, a widower, with his hands full of his baby.”

“Not really straight,” Laura said. “He actually came out to the family yesterday, with a couple of extra confessions as to how he figured his real sexual orientation.” Both Hale sisters gave Stiles a pointed look. He turned his back to the party to stare openly at them.

“So the beers were just a trick, then.” He looked down to his half beer, taking another sip, and smiled lopsidedly. “As did the invite.” He sighed. “Look. I’m not exactly proud of, you know, so I’m just gonna go.”

Cora grabbed his arm. “We don’t blame you or anything. He was on the wrong too, but we thought he was miserable for Jennifer when he really was mopping and cranky for you. And if he has a chance to-”

“It doesn’t matter if you guys don’t blame me. _He_ does. And if he was feeling bad, it was guilt. Not me. I was just a distraction. The cause, the reason why Jamie’s mother is dead, okay? He doesn’t want anything from me.”

“You don’t believe that,” tried Laura. “You’re here after all.”

“I actually believe it: especially when it’s been told harshly to you after been thoroughly taken apart.” He put his beer on a nearby table, feeling the tears burning the back of his eyeballs. “I shouldn’t have come here. I’m leaving.”

But before he could even take a step forward, Derek’s voice at his back froze him there. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah, we were just trying to stop Stiles from leaving, but looks like you’ve got it covered.” Stiles closed his eyes, defeated. “Come on, Cora. They have a lot to actually talk about.”

“We should go inside,” said Derek. He then took some steps into the house and stopped raising an eyebrow stating ‘you coming?’. Stiles sighed, and followed, feeling several eyes glued to his back.

Derek led them to a bedroom on the second floor. Stiles looked around realizing it was probably Derek’s childhood room. He saw books, a green quilt over the bed, a desk, and some baby toys. Derek closed the door behind him.

“Nobody should bother us here.”

Stiles crossed his arms, scowled and rested his tensed body against the desk. “We’re not fucking; you’re not saying thanks again. That kiss and this party is more than enough. I don’t think I can handle more, so say what you have to say and then I’m leaving.”

“I wasn’t thinking of,” at Stiles raised eyebrow he stuttered, “well, yes, a bit, but no,” he inhaled deeply, “I really want to talk.”

Stiles posture didn’t change. He glared. “Then talk.”

Derek sat on the bed, patting the spot next him, but Stiles didn’t move. Derek sighed. “That night… I didn’t mean it.”

“Oh, I know you didn’t fucking mean it, Derek.” Stiles raised and dropped his arms exasperated, pushing himself off the desk and pacing. “Tell me something I don’t know. You only said those words to get me in bed willingly and then dumped my ass. That last part was the only thing you meant that night. You actually only fooled me because I was already docile with the pain meds. I already rationalized everything about that fucking night. Those pills made me believe you lo-”

Derek stood up and forced him to stop moving. “Shut up, Stiles. You know nothing.” When he was sure Stiles wouldn’t interrupt, he took a step back and sat again on the bed with Stiles standing in front of him, silent, waiting. “I was terrified: I almost lost Jamie, I lost Jennifer, but what scared me most was that I could have lost you too.” He looked up to Stiles’ wide eyes. “And in a way I did lose you: I made you stay away from me. I knew exactly what words would hurt you most and keep you away. And I’m sorry. God, you have no idea how sorry I am. Your face that night…” Derek scrubbed his face and patted again the spot next to him. This time Stiles sat down, astonished with the string of words Derek was delivering. “I love Jamie, with everything I have, but I also love you as fiercely as I love her. I didn’t lie about that, or the way I made love to you…” he caressed Stiles’ cheek, making him shiver as they both remembered the tender moment. “I don’t know what would have been worse: losing her or you. That scared me; it still does.” He breathed deeply. “Now, I don’t have you, but you’re alive and I have Jamie; I thought that was enough. Then you started showing up with hickeys and I would lose it for entirely different reasons,” he closed tightly his fists. “And then you saved my kid, again. And- I realized I don’t want you out of my life, our lives. I want you to be a part of this. I want to date you, possibly marry you.” He cleared his voice, sighing. “But I’ll understand if you say no, and respect that somehow. But if you say yes, I- I’ll never let you go or push you away.”

“You- are you serious right now? You’re not fucking with me? Because I was pretty sure you hated me, blamed me for everything.” Stiles frowned searching in Derek’s eyes: the seriousness he found there was one that Stiles only saw directed to the laser focus on work.

“I am serious, Stiles. And no, I was an asshole for saying that as I never really blamed you. If anything, I blame myself for hooking up with Kate Argent.” He frowned glaring at the floor.

“Hey, you didn’t know she was a psycho or her dad a nutjob. That wasn’t your fault.” Stiles grabbed Derek’s hand and made him look up again. “And about the other thing… I’d have to think about it, ‘kay? I have to know for sure that I’m not a second choice or something like that.”

Derek twisted in order to look him straight in the eyes. “Stiles, if Jennifer hadn’t been pregnant, I would have broken up with her and find you,” he stated seriously. “I have Jamie, and yes, she will come first in a lot of things, but I want you to be by my side, taking every decision involving her with me. You wouldn’t be second: you would be a parent with me.”

Stiles next breath came out shakily. Derek meant all that, he was sure of it. The decision was made. “Ask me again,” he whispered.

Derek grabbed tenderly his face. “Stiles, will you please date me and parent a child with me correctly, officially, and publicly?”

Stiles blushed, smiled and with unshed tears said: “Yes.” Derek kissed him slowly, gently until Stiles bit his lip and it became deeper and greedier. “It won’t be easy you know?” Stiles said breathlessly while Derek became reacquainted with his neck and grumbled his attention. “I won’t be easy.” Derek smirked as his hand started traveling under Stiles’ shirt. Stiles straddled Derek’s hips and stopped him. “I mean it. I’m going to make you sweat for it.”

Derek sighed happily, putting his hands on Stiles’ hips. “You’ll set the pace then. For everything.”

Stiles nodded, bit his lip and went back to hungrily kiss Derek. They were both hard within minutes, but a knock on the door stopped them. “Derek,” said Talia Hale, “you and Stiles might want to postpone your, uh, chat for another time. Food’s ready and it’s almost Jamie's nap time. We’ll wait downstairs for the cake.”

Derek hugged Stiles tightly, caressing with his nose Stile’s cheek. “Would you like to help me?” he whispered.

Stiles made some space between them, looking again into the abyss of Derek’s colorful eyes, filled with the loving look he always got with Jamie. It made him grin brightly. “Yeah, I’d like that. I’d like that a lot.” And Derek had completely missed, ached, for those shiny, happy, dark honey eyes.

They stood up and rearranged themselves, all while giggling like teenagers. Before leaving the bedroom Derek intertwined their fingers and stole one more kiss, dispersing Stiles gloomy mood from earlier. However Stiles tried to let go when they reached the patio door, but Derek didn’t budge. He smiled confidently and pulled him outside, walking straight to the sheriff. Stiles could feel every pair of eyes on them. It made him blush.

Derek cleared his throat as they reached John Stilinski. “Sir, I would like to properly date your son.” Stiles gasped, as several guests did. His dad, though, was assessing Derek.

“Properly, huh?” his eyes went to Stiles, looking for confirmation or signs that would make him refuse, but the glow of joy that surrounded his son now was something that he hadn’t seen in a year.

“It’s kind of a long story, dad,” he bit his lower lip, worried of how he would react when he delivered the whole thing.

“Oh, I know it is,” he gave them both a pointed look, the sheriff-father look, that made them squirm under it. “Lydia gave me enough bits and pieces for me to fill the picture. I was only missing the name confirmation.” Stiles gaped. “She was calming my worries, son. Can you really blame her?” Stiles mumbled incoherencies. “As for your request, Derek: as long as my son remains happy, I won’t have any problem with the relationship, both in a professional and personal matter. However if that changes, don’t forget I have an excellent aim.”

“Oh, you won’t be alone, John,” said Talia. “If he ever makes something stupid, we’ll all be the first in line to fire.” She signaled back to her family, making Derek gulp down nervously.

“I’ll extend the same courtesy for my son. He can be quite… a handful”

Stiles groaned, embarrassed, but happy either way, hiding his face on Derek’s neck, feeling the man’s arms circling his waist. It was actually happening. The parents’ threats made it more real. “We’re gonna be so dead, dude.”

Derek pinched his side. “Don’t call me dude.” He let go of Stiles to receive Jamie from Laura. He turned to him, offering Stiles to carry his beautiful girl. Stiles brightened up and extended eagerly his arms. She easily settled –no fuss whatsoever as usual when new people tried to hold her–, and started baby talking. Stiles hummed along, keeping up the conversation as if he could truly understand her. Everyone around them melted with the cuteness that caused to see those two together for the first time, like they’ve always belonged to each other. Derek couldn’t help the huge grin that took over his features. “Let’s cut the cake and eat.”

*

Epilogue

The picture on the center table of the house was of Jamie’s first birthday, when Derek’s hand covered Stiles’ while he held Jamie and the three of them cut the cake together. Neither was looking towards the camera or the cake, they were looking at each other. All the guests to the party could detail the miraculous change on both men, even on Jamie, after the brief moment Stiles and Derek shared inside: one moment it was a cloudy day and then the sun came out with rainbows and unicorns.

And even five years later that delight and merry could be felt whenever you were with them. They had bad days too, obviously; however these were truly rare and soon after they would vanish. It was actually the beautiful growing Jamie who solidified their relationship and eased the bumps of the road.

They were giving her a bubbly bath when she posed their latest worry. She was singing and laughing, but suddenly stopped as if she remembered something deathly important. She turned on them while submerging her duck.

“Daddies, do you love me?” They frowned confused.

“Sweetheart, you know we do,” Derek answered. “We tell you every morning and night.”

“Mmm,” she hummed while Stiles rinsed the soap out of her hair.

“Where’s this coming from, honeybun? We don’t give you enough love? Should we give you even more? ‘Cause we can totally do that, my fierce warrior princess. May the sun always kiss your tender face and enlighten us with your presence and fair rule.” Stiles started tickling her, making her squeal delighted.

“Stop,” Stiles could only obey the princess of their hearts. She steadied her breathing and contorted slightly her features, unsure of how to speak her mind out loud. They waited patiently. “Uncle Scott and Auntie Kira really love Tommy, and also Auntie Laura and Uncle David love Ryan and Susie so much. And Auntie Lydia said that their love was for the world to be seen on the little gold things on their fingers, she also said that’s why she now had one too!” Derek side glanced at Stiles, who was staring intently at her. They both knew where this was going. “But you don’t have that, Daddies.” She turned her big puppy eyes on them. “Why you don’t have that? You love me, right? Right?” She demanded grabbing their hands strongly for a six-year-old.

“Jamie Elizabeth Hale,” Derek got her attention seriously. “We love you as much as the wolf loves the moon and calls her every night. We are so in love with you we forgot the rest of the world needs to know too.”

She bit her lip, a habit she got from Stiles. “Okay. But you will tell the world, right? Auntie Lydia said it’s really really important.”

“Did she now?” Stiles mumbled, caressing her tiny knuckles. “What else she said?”

“She said you’f pospo- portp- pos,” she bit her lip frowning.

“Postponed?” Derek suggested.

“Yes! That! Long enough. And to get out of your chocolate butts,” she stated seriously, and then snickered covering her mouth. “Chocolate butts.”

“Well, honeybun, it might take longer,” she turned her head to the side, sign that she was paying close attention. “You see, the little gold bands?” she nodded. “Those are rings that have to be forged, made, by a very special and grumpy dragon. And we have been so busy loving you that we left that quest for another time. Do you want us to stop that and look for the dragon?”

She shook her head to every side possible, indecisive in her own head. “She said you could do it. That it was time, but I don’t want you to stop loving me.” Her big scared eyes were enough.

“Maybe we can do both?” Derek asked both her and Stiles, who refused to look up from the water. “It would be really hard.”

“I can help!” she exclaimed eagerly. “Auntie Lydia and Auntie Laura said I can help!”

Derek nodded seriously. “Mmm, yes, you could help. But not tonight,” she pouted, “tonight we sleep. Tomorrow we’ll start looking for the dragon, agreed?”

She stood up, as Stiles extended her fluffy, purple towel. “Agreed.”

After that she easily fell asleep inside Stiles arms as they put on her pijamas. They let her rest with her night-lamp on, which featured several animals on her walls. They retreated to their room quietly, cautious not to make noises that would wake her, even when they knew she could sleep through thunderstorms. They got out of their own clothes, glancing at each other, until Derek had enough of Stiles almost nibbling his lip to death.

“Hey,” he tugged Stiles into his arms. “We don’t have to do it, ‘kay? She might forget it tomorrow.”

Stiles nodded. “Yeah. I know that. But what if she doesn’t? What if she insists? I don’t know if we’re-”

“We’ll see tomorrow. We’ll take her to school, do our everyday routine. You’ll go do our errands, I’ll go to my shift. Then we pick her up together, and you go to your shift. Then we’ll have dinner together.” He stroked Stiles’ neck with his nose. “And it will be okay.”

They kissed and went to sleep. Stiles worries slightly eased, while Derek’s head formed a plan.

*

The next day went as Derek told Stiles it would. He was laughing easily and brightly while retelling Jamie the adventure of catching a nasty rat for old Miss Claire. Jamie was always thrilled with his stories, even if he exaggerated on her behalf. Derek stood up retrieving the dishes, and Jamie’s excitement grew. Stiles thought it was because of the story and mentally shrugged it off, but as he finished his tale she was still excited and looking directly at something over his shoulder, to the kitchen’s door. He looked back to see Derek standing there, smiling fondly.

“Now?” she yelled.

Derek nodded. “Now.” She grabbed Stiles hand and pulled him towards the living room. Stiles asked with a silent eyebrow what was going on to Derek, but he shrugged it off and followed them.

“Sit! Sit!” she exclaimed, recalling Stiles attention. The living room’s table was at the far side, leaving the carpet more than visible and where Stiles was supposed to sit. Jamie sat next to him and Derek in front. Jamie took both their hands so that they would take each other’s hand. She looked at Derek expectantly, who nodded again. She stood up, went running to her room and came back before Stiles could attempt to ask again what they were doing. Derek’s eyes forced him to keep his mouth quiet. He only got that look when they were on shift together.

Jamie came back with a stuffed dragon and put it on Stiles’ lap. “Open his mouth, open his mouth.” She urged him. One handed, Stiles did as told, founding a dark, red box. He gasped, an idea forming in his head of the insides of said box, when Derek started talking.

“I know you’re afraid of this because of what our history might trigger, but Stiles I’ve never loved anyone as much as I love you. And Jamie agrees completely: she knows that the way I love you is different from the way we love her. And they’re all right: it is time.”

Jamie opened the box for him, showing him two beautiful white gold rings. He gulped nervously. “Daddy! We found _the_ dragon!”

“Yeah,” he said breathlessly. “You guys did.”

“Daddy!” She turned to Derek. “Ask him! Ask him!” They both smiled at her excitement. Stiles eyes threatened to drop a few tears.

“Stiles, will you please marry me and show the world how much we love each other and Jamie?” Both pair of hazel eyes were expecting his answer. He swallowed dryly, composing himself slightly to deliver the same response he gave Derek on Jamie’s first birthday.

He kissed Derek, making Jamie scream happily, slowly, with ever amount of love his beating heart had for this man and their adorable daughter. “Yes,” he said shakily. “Yes. My God, yes.”

*

After putting Jamie to bed, they celebrated as a newly engaged couple would: with the slow, gentle burn of each other’s touch as quietly as they could. A long while later, they were kissing lazily naked in bed.

“You can’t have put this together in a day. How long were you thinking about it?” Stiles asked softly. Derek kissed his temple.

“I’ve always been thinking about it. I’ve only been planning it for the last four months though. Jamie gave me the final green light and helped me with the actual how.”

“We’re gonna be married. Like forever.”

“I like the sound of that.”

“I can’t wait for it to be real.”

“It already feels real to me.” Derek whispered against his forehead.

Stiles grinned and kissed him senseless. “I love you.”

Derek sighed happily, rearranging them for sleep, with him as the bigger spoon. “I love you too,” he whispered to Stiles neck.


End file.
